O desenvolvimento urbano de Areia/PB: contribuição aos estudos de morfologia e história urbana no Brasil

This article studies the origins and the shaping of Areia, Paraiba, Brazil, between the 18th and 20th centuries, from an urban morphology viewpoint. We argue that the Areia's pattern of growth corresponds to those of other cities of Colonial Brazil. These similarities can be found in their setting and urban form, particularly in their origins as stops along penetration routes, as a result of the merging of different and tiny settlements, or even in their decline caused by their exclusion from the railway networks. These analogies ratify the need to include Areia in the map of Brazilian urban studies.